Going on a cruise

So I am going on a cruise this coming October. It will be my first time out of the country and on a cruise so I am very excited. Howver, I dont know if I have the right camera equipment. I currently own a Canon Rebal 2000, with the standard 28-80mm lens. I also prchased a Quantaray 70-300mm lens. This equioment was purchased a few years ago when I first became interested into photography. I also purchased a new sling bag from Tamrac that is shipping soon. So my question is this, do you guys suggest I get anymore equipment. This being my first true vacation out of the country and on a cruise im not sure what else I willl want. It is to the Eastern Carribean so I am not sure with the sun if I will need to use dufferent filters or what not. I have been looking to upgrade to the Elan 7ne but cant justify spending the money because I feel my skill level has not yet progressed to it. Thankyou for any suggestions and ideas on what else I will need.

I think you have good stuff. Take a lot of pictures, and see how you feel about them. You're bound to get something good. Then try to understand why certain shots work and others do not. Hopefully you'll have a life of travel ahead of you, so don't worry about having the perfect gear with you.

In the Carribean you'll get great skies both during the day and in the evening, so get a Circular Polarizer for beautiful skies. Learn to use the filter, there's a reason it is called circular, and rotates within it's frame!

Have fun. Don't eat too much conch the first time, it can give you REALLY bad gas. (Hey, he asked for "any advice.")

Good advice from Mr. Flatline. A circular polarizing filter will enhance just about any shot taken in sunlight. Remember to take it off when it gets darker though, because it will rob some of the light...making it harder to get a fast enough shutter speed. If your lenses have different sized filter threads, get a polarizer that will fit the biggest lens and then you can get inexpensive 'step-up rings' for the smaller lenses. It's much better than buying different sized filters for all your lenses.

You may also want a lens hood(s) if you don't have then already. You can get cheap collapsible ones for less that $20. When in the sun, a lens hood can really help. Make sure that it's wide enough so that it doesn't show up in the corners of the image when you are zoomed all the way back.

On problem with the two lens that you have...is that they are both 'slow'. By that I mean that their maximum aperture is not very wide. A wide aperture is nice because it will help to get faster shutter speeds and shallow Depth of Field.

One of the least expensive lenses you can get for your camera is the EF 50mm F1.8 ($70 US). I suggest getting this lens (or if you want something with better quality the 50mm F1.4...but it's 3 to 4 times more expensive). Not only will this lens give you the benefits of a larger maximum aperture...the image quality will be much better than either of the two zoom lenses you have now. It may even become your favorite lens. It certainly was my favorite lens on my EOS film camera. You could alternatively get a 28mm, a 35mm or an 85mm lens. All are great prime (non-zoom) lenses that offer the same benefit's.